Things pile up in the in-box. I give them to you:

• Frayed Peavy: ‘I’m sick of losing’ (U-T). If he didn’t pitch so darned well, he might have better results. Ask Chan Ho Park, who seems to be the new Izzy Valdez. Also, Josh Beckett has some high praise for Peavy.
• Padres hope to keep Hoffman a top secret (USA Today). Bob Nightengale talks about the Padres closer. It’s written for fans on the East Coast, who apparently don’t know much about him. There’s also some stuff in here about what Hoffman supposedly is looking for in a contract next year. Take with appropriate buckets of salt.
• The Next Big Thing (Hardball Times). Aaron Gleeman loves Seattle phenom Felix Hernandez. I saw Hernandez pitch last year at Rancho Cucamonga during the Ducksnorts/Syntax of Things tour of the Cal League. His velocity was good but he had no command. Turns out that was just about the only bad game he pitched all year.
• The Phenoms (Baseball Crank). More analysis of young pitchers. This one looks at attrition rates. Some of the guys he lists were subjected to unbelievable abuse.
• Writing Blog Content – Make it Scannable (ProBlogger). Nothing to do with baseball, but it occurs to me that I’ve been blogging for a long time and I know there are others who read this site that blog or are thinking of blogging, and the least I can do is pass along some of what I know. If you are at all interested in blogging, I cannot recommend Darren Rowse’s writing enough. He is an absolute must read.